New Queer Cinema is a term first coined by the academic B.

Ruby Rich in Sight &

Sound magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent
filmmaking in the early 1990s. The term developed from use of the word queer in academic
writing in the 1980s and 1990s as an inclusive way of describing gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender identity and experience, and also defining a form of sexuality that was fluid and
subversive of traditional understandings of sexuality. Since 1992, the phenomenon has also
been described by various other academics and has been used to describe several other films
released since the 1990s. Films of the New Queer Cinema movement typically share certain
themes, such as the rejection of heteronormativity and the lives of LGBT protagonists living on
the fringe of society.[1][2]

Overview[edit]
In her 1992 article, Rich commented on the strong gay and lesbian presence on the previous
year's film festival circuit, and coined the phrase "New Queer Cinema" to describe a growing
movement of similarly themed films being made by gay and lesbian independent filmmakers,
chiefly in North America and England.[3] Rich developed her theory in the Village
Voice newspaper, describing films that were radical in form, and aggressive in their
presentation of sexual identities which challenged both the status quo of heterosexual
definition, and resisted promoting "positive" images of lesbians and gay men that had been
advocated by the gay liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In the films of New Queer
Cinema, the protagonists and narratives were predominantly LGBT, but were presented
invariably as outsiders and renegades from the rules of conventional society, and embraced
radical and unconventional gender roles and ways of life, frequently casting themselves as
outlaws or fugitives.

The late American actor River Phoenix. Phoenix's critically acclaimed performance as gay hustler Mikey
Waters in Gus Van Sant's 1991 film My Own Private Idahohelped bring queer cinema to a mainstream
audience.

Drawing on postmodernist and poststructuralist academic theories of the 1980s, the New Queer
Cinema presented human identity and sexuality as socially constructed, and therefore fluid
and changeable, rather than fixed. In the world of New Queer Cinema, sexuality is often a
chaotic and subversive force, which is alienating to and often brutally repressed by dominant
heterosexual power structures. Films in the New Queer Cinema movement frequently featured
explicit and unapologetic depictions of same-sex sexual activity, and presented same-sex
relationships that reconfigured traditional heterosexual notions of family and marriage. While
not all identifying with a specific political movement, New Queer Cinema films were invariably
radical, as they sought to challenge and subvert assumptions about identity, gender, class,
family and society. The 1991 documentary Paris is Burning introduced audiences to yet another
subcultural realm. Director Jennie Livingston captured the realities of New York's drag balls and
houses, and of the non-white people who occupied these spaces. This was an arguably
underground world with which many Americans were unfamiliar. Aesthetic excellence and
flamboyance were crucial in drag performances and competitions. Stylized vogue dancing was
also exhibited as central to the drag experience, notably influencing the artistry of pop
icon Madonna. New Queer Cinema figures like Livingston encouraged viewers to suspend their
ignorance, and enjoy the diversity of humanity.
The films also frequently referenced the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, often commenting on the
failure of the Ronald Reagan administration to respond to the AIDS epidemic and the social
stigma experienced by the gay community. Given the relative invisibility of references to AIDS
in mainstream Hollywood filmmaking, the work of New Queer Cinema was hailed by the gay

community as a welcome correction to a history of under-representation and stereotyping of

gay and lesbian people.
Among the films cited by Rich were Todd Haynes's Poison (1991), Isaac Julien's Young Soul
Rebels (1991), Derek Jarman's Edward II (1991), Tom Kalin's Swoon (1992), and Gregg Araki'sThe Living
End (1992). All the films feature explicitly gay and lesbian protagonists and subjects; explicit
and unapologetic depictions of or references to gay sex; and a confrontational and often
antagonistic approach towards heterosexual culture.
These directors were making their films at a time when the gay community was facing new
challenges from the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and the conservative political wave brought on by
the presidency of Ronald Reagan in the United States and the government of Margaret Thatcher in
the United Kingdom. Jarman himself was diagnosed with AIDS in 1986, and died in 1994 at
the age of 52. Jarman's public promoting of gay rights and equality have established him as an
influential activist within the LGBT community.
Queer theory and politics were emerging topics in academic circles, with proponents arguing
that gender and sexual categories such as homosexual and heterosexual were historical
social constructs, subject to change with cultural attitudes. Rich noted that many films were
beginning to represent sexualities which were unashamedly neither fixed nor conventional,
and coined the phrase "New Queer Cinema".

Evolution[edit]
Beginning in the 2010s, a number of LGBT filmmakers, including Rose Troche[4] and Travis
Mathews,[5] have identified a newer trend in LGBT filmmaking, in which the influence of New
Queer Cinema is evolving toward more universal audience appeal.
Rich, the originator of the phrase New Queer Cinema, has identified the emergence of LGBTthemed films such as Brokeback Mountain, Milk and The Kids Are All Right as mainstream hits in the
late 2000s as a key moment in the evolution of the genre, [6] while both Troche and Mathews
singled out Stacie Passon's 2013 film Concussion a film about marital infidelity in which the central
characters' lesbianism is a relatively minor aspect of a story whose primary theme involves
depicting the ways in which any long-term relationship risks becoming troubled and
unfulfilling, regardless of its gender configuration as a prominent example of the trend. [4]
[5] The French film Blue Is the Warmest Colour, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film
Festival, has also been singled out as a notable example.[7]

New Queer Cinema figures[edit]

Directors[edit]
Alex Sichel: All Over Me (1997)
Alexis Dos Santos: Glue (2006)
Ang Lee: The Wedding Banquet (1993), Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Apichatpong Weerasethakul: The Adventure of Iron Pussy (2003), Tropical Malady (2004)
Arthur Bressan: Buddies (1985)
Bill Sherwood: Parting Glances (1986)
Bruce LaBruce: No Skin Off My Ass (1991), Hustler White (1996) (although this might properly be
classified as Queercore), Otto; or, Up With Dead People (2008)
Casper Andreas: Slutty Summer (2004), A Four Letter Word (2007), Between Love and Goodbye (2008), The

Big Gay Musical (2009), Violet Tendencies (2010), Going Down in LA-LA Land (2011)
Cheryl Dunye: The Watermelon Woman (1996), Stranger Inside (2001)
Christopher Mnch: The Hours and Times (1991)
Donna Deitch: Desert Hearts (1985)
Derek Jarman: Sebastiane (1976), Caravaggio (1986), The Garden (1990), Edward II (1991), Blue (1993)
Everett Lewis: Skin & Bone (1994), Luster (2000), FAQs (2005), Lucky Bastard (2008), The Pretty
Boys (2010), Somefarwhere (2011)
Franoise Doherty: Les Lapines (The Girl Bunnies) (2008), The Girl Bunnies. Hockey. (2009), The Girl
Bunnies. Big Tree. (2011)
Gregg Araki: The Living End (1992), Totally Fucked Up (1993), The Doom
Generation (1995), Nowhere (1997), Mysterious Skin (2004), Kaboom (2010)
Gus Van Sant: Mala Noche (1985), My Own Private Idaho (1991), Even Cowgirls Get the
Blues (1993), Elephant (2003), Milk (2008)
Isaac Julien: Looking for Langston (1989), Young Soul Rebels (1991)
Jamie Babbit: But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), The Quiet (2005), Itty Bitty Titty Committee (2007)
Jennie Livingston: Paris is Burning (1990)
John Cameron Mitchell: Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001), Shortbus (2006)
John Greyson: Pissoir (1988), Zero Patience (1993), Lilies (1996), Proteus (2003), Fig Trees (2009)
Julin Hernndez: A Thousand Clouds of Peace (2003), Broken Sky (2006), Raging Sun, Raging Sky (2009)
Kimberly Peirce: Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Kit Hung: Soundless Wind Chime (2009)
Maria Maggenti: The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995)
Mark Christopher: The Dead Boys Club (1992), Alkali, Iowa (1995)
Norman Ren: Longtime Companion (1989)
Rose Troche: Go Fish (1994), Bedrooms and Hallways (1998)
Sbastien Lifshitz: Presque rien (2000), Wild Side (2004)
Todd Haynes: Poison (1991), Dottie Gets Spanked (1993), Safe (1995) Velvet Goldmine (1998), Far from
Heaven (2002), I'm Not There (2007)
Todd Verow: Frisk (1995), Anonymous (2004), Vacationland (2006), Between Something & Nothing (2008)
Tom Kalin: Swoon (1992)
Seth Michael Donsky: Twisted (1996), Loopy (2004)

Producers[edit]
Christine Vachon: Poison, Swoon, Safe, Go Fish, Velvet Goldmine, Boys Don't Cry, Far from Heaven.
Andrea Sperling: The Hours and Times, Totally Fucked Up, The Doom Generation, But I'm a Cheerleader, Itty
Bitty Titty Committee

Actors/Actresses[edit]
Alexis Arquette: Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989) - Grief (1993) - Threesome (1994) - Frisk (1995) - I Think I
Do (1997)
Craig Chester: Swoon (1992) - Frisk (1995) - Kiss Me, Guido (1997) - Adam & Steve (2005)

Craig Gilmore: The Living End (1992) - Totally Fucked Up (1993)

Guinevere Turner: Go Fish (1994) - The Watermelon Woman (1996) - Kiss Me, Guido (1997) - The
Fluffer (2001) - Itty Bitty Titty Committee (2007)
James Duval: Totally Fucked Up (1993) - The Doom Generation (1995) - A River Made to Drown In (1997)
- Nowhere (1997) - Kaboom (2010)
Ian McKellen: Gods and Monsters (1998) - Apt Pupil (1998)